Universal and Imagine Making The Knife

Universal Pictures and Imagine Entertainment will once again mount a true-crime drama that focuses on an unlikely bond between men on either side of the law, says Variety.

The pair, which drew today’s wide release American Gangster from a Mark Jacobson-penned New York magazine article on drug dealer Frank Lucas, has optioned The Knife, an investigative article by Guy Lawson that will be published in the January issue of GQ.

The trade says the title refers to the code name given to a Crips member in South Central who became an informant and collaborated for a decade with FBI agent Tim Flaherty to crack murder, drug and arms-deal cases.

Brian Grazer will produce, with Paul de Souza and Henry Beane executive producing.